Coming to America: Why Vogue Loves COS Clothes

Tonight there will be COS for celebration (and an irresistible pun): the minimal, sleek H&M–owned label is making its U.S. debut in an Opening Ceremony pop-up shop, and not since Isabel Marant made its way stateside have fans of a Europe-based brand been so excited. You see, for years COS couldn’t even be shopped online in the U.S., so the only way to get it was to go to London or Paris and leave some room in your suitcase. But whether the glow that seemed to radiate off of everything in the foreign store was mostly about its limited access (and the guarantee that few over this side of the pond would own the same pieces), this spring, COS will officially land in New York in a new store at 129 Spring Street. The brand is the best-kept secret that everyone in fashion seems to know, and editors have been carting the label’s superaffordable sweaters and white shirts back home for years. Even the most trained eye could mistake a clean COS look for Céline or Stella McCartney, but that’s not the only reason to love it. We asked Vogue staffers about why they can’t get enough of the COS effect.

1. It’s affordable, but not disposable.Though COS falls at a low price point, at its core are basics that are mostly seasonless. “I find the quality to be better than H&M and Zara and less trendy, which means you can rely on them for years to come,” Vogue’s Photo Research Editor Maureen Songco says.

2. The collection is for grown-ups.“It’s turned more into a regular go-to [for me] since turning 30 and outgrowing Topshop and H&M’s younger pieces,” says Vogue Fashion Writer Esther Adams. It’s true: At COS, you don’t have to keep your eyes peeled for a chic coat nestled in among kitty cat tees or other teenage looks. “I love the modern, graphic, off-kilter silhouettes for women (cocoon jackets and harem pants in simple, classic prints or block colors) and the bomber jackets and oversize printed sweaters in the men’s department.”

3. It’s current without being trendy.There’s always some detail that makes the minimal pieces at COS look fresh, but nothing in the collection is an exact reference (or knockoff) of pieces on the runway. “It’s kind of label-less in that way and perfect for a half-hearted minimalist,” Adams says.

4. The details draw you in.“I’m a sucker for clean Scandinavian design,” says Vogue Fashion Writer Chioma Nnadi. “I swear by their underwear; they’re much more pared back than the bras I tend to find in the U.S.—no padding at all, and they manage to make luxe silky bralettes that are not at all sickly sweet.”

5. Two words: guaranteed compliments.Says Vogue’s Fashion Associate Stella Greenspan: “For real, every time I wear something from them, I get complimented. It’s like clockwork—I probably jinxed it now by saying that out loud.” And when Hanneli Mustaparta came into the office wearing a COS sweater? She barely made it down the hall without being stopped and asked about its origins.